WO2017032303A1

WO2017032303A1 - Polypeptide carrier for presenting target polypeptide and uses thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2017032303A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/096481
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张天英; 袁权; 郭雪染; 张莹; 赵勤俭; 张军; 夏宁邵
Original assignee: 厦门大学; 厦门万泰沧海生物技术有限公司
Priority date: 2015-08-25
Filing date: 2016-08-24
Publication date: 2017-03-02
Also published as: CN106480070B; US20190247494A1; CA2996497A1; EP3342866B1; KR102116320B1; BR112018003580A2; JP6863966B2; CN106480070A; KR20180038557A; EP3342866A1; EP3342866A4; JP2018533908A; HK1252980A1; US10548973B2; AU2016313660A1; AU2016313660B2

Abstract

Provided is a nucleic acid molecular, comprising a nucleotide sequence coding a polypeptide carrier. Also provided are a recombinant protein comprising the polypeptide carrier and a target polypeptide, and uses of the nucleic acid molecular and the recombinant protein. Also provided is a vaccine or pharmaceutical composition that can be used for prevention, alleviation, or treatment of HBV infections or HBV infection-related diseases (for example, hepatitis B), the composition comprising the polypeptide carrier and a recombinant protein from an HBV epitope.

Description

Polypeptide carrier for displaying polypeptide of interest and use thereof

Technical field

The invention relates to the field of genetic engineering vaccines, the field of molecular virology and the field of immunology. In addition, the present invention particularly relates to the field of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection treatment. In particular, the invention relates to a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a peptide carrier and for inserting a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of interest. In particular, the nucleic acid molecule of the present invention, after insertion of a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of interest and expressed as a recombinant protein, is capable of displaying the polypeptide of interest (eg, an epitope of interest or an epitope of interest in an antigen), And/or, the recombinant protein is capable of forming a virus-like particle and displaying the polypeptide of interest. Furthermore, the invention relates to a recombinant protein comprising the polypeptide vector and a polypeptide of interest. Further, the invention relates to the use of said nucleic acid molecule and said recombinant protein. Further, the present invention particularly relates to a vaccine or pharmaceutical composition for preventing, alleviating or treating a disease associated with HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection, such as hepatitis B, comprising a polypeptide vector comprising the polypeptide of the present invention and an epitope derived from HBV. Recombinant protein.

Background technique

Vaccines are an effective means of dealing with infectious diseases. Vaccines can be classified into preventive vaccines and therapeutic vaccines depending on the population. Prophylactic vaccines are mainly used to prevent viral infections, including attenuated vaccines, inactivated vaccines, and genetically engineered vaccines, which protect the body from infection by inducing neutralizing antibodies. Therapeutic vaccines are mainly used to treat diseases such as persistent viral infections and tumors. In these diseases, patients generally exhibit a state of immune tolerance to target antigens, and therefore, researchers have attempted to induce an effective immune response against a target antigen by various forms of vaccine. Therapeutic vaccines mainly include nucleic acid vaccines, viral vector vaccines, genetic engineering vaccines, etc., among which genetically engineered vaccines have obvious advantages.

The genetically engineered vaccines that have been marketed include hepatitis B virus vaccine, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and hepatitis E virus (Hepatitis E). Virus, HEV) vaccines, all of which are in the form of virus-like particles (VLPs). A virus-like particle refers to a hollow particle composed of one or more structural proteins of a certain virus, which does not contain viral nucleic acid and cannot be autonomously replicated, but is identical or similar in morphology to a true virion. The virus-like particles have the following advantages: strong immunogenicity, good safety, inactivation, display of exogenous peptides and induction of specific immune responses against exogenous peptides, and therefore important applications in the field of vaccines. value.

At present, about 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with HBV, and about 350 million of them have chronic HBV infections. These people eventually die from HBV infection-related liver diseases by 15%-25%. More than 1 million people worldwide die from end-stage liver disease caused by hepatitis B every year. China is the hardest hit area of HBV infection, and there are currently about 93 million hepatitis B carriers. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the case report system, the incidence of hepatitis B-related diseases, the mortality rate has not declined.

Current therapeutic drugs for chronic HBV infection can be divided into two main categories, interferon and nucleoside/nucleotide analogs (NAs). The ultimate goal of the treatment of chronic HBV infection is to prevent the occurrence of end-stage liver disease such as severe hepatitis (liver failure), cirrhosis and liver cancer; the best clinical endpoint is to make patients reach the serology of hepatitis B virus surface antigen. Negative or serological conversion, ie complete elimination of HBV. However, the efficacy of existing drugs to achieve this goal is very limited. Therefore, it is urgent and necessary to develop new and effective therapeutic drugs and methods for the effective elimination of viruses, especially HBsAg, or to significantly reduce the level of HBsAg, in patients with chronic HBV infection, and to develop therapeutic vaccines. A strategy with a certain potential.

Summary of the invention

The inventors of the present application are based on three bat-derived hepatitis B virus core antigen proteins (ie, the core antigen protein (RBHBcAg) of the roundleaf bat HBV (RBHBV); the bat hepatitis B virus (tent) -making bat HBV, TBHBV) core antigen protein (TBHBcAg); horshoe bat HBV (HBHBV) core antigen protein (HBHBcAg), developed a new class of peptides for the display of peptides of interest A peptide carrier. Thus, the invention provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide vector. Such nucleic acid molecules can be inserted for coding purposes A nucleotide sequence of a polypeptide expressed as a recombinant protein comprising a polypeptide vector and a polypeptide of interest (e.g., an antigen of interest, or an epitope of interest in an antigen). Further, the produced recombinant protein is capable of efficiently forming a VLP, and is capable of displaying a polypeptide of interest inserted into the VLP surface, so that the polypeptide of interest can be effectively recognized by the body's immune system, and the body is induced to generate a specific immune response against the polypeptide of interest. . Thus, the polypeptide vector of the present invention can be used as a vaccine vector for displaying a polypeptide of interest, such as a peptide (for example, an epitope) from an antigen of interest; and a recombinant protein comprising the polypeptide vector of the present invention and a polypeptide of interest can be used as a vaccine It is used to induce the body to produce a specific immune response against the polypeptide of interest.

Furthermore, the inventors of the present application have surprisingly found that the C-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein, the TBHBcAg protein, and the HBHBcAg protein are both arginine-rich regions, which are not essential for VLP assembly. Therefore, the polypeptide carrier of the present invention may not contain the C-terminal region of the RBHBcAg protein, the TBHBcAg protein, and the HBHBcAg protein. For example, the RBHBcAg vector of the present invention may delete part or all of amino acids 145-189 of the RBHBcAg protein (for example, amino acids 150-189 of the RBHBcAg protein are deleted); the TBHBcAg vector of the present invention may be deleted from the 149th of the TBHBcAg protein. Part or all of the amino acid at position 188 (for example, deleting amino acids 154-188 of the TBHBcAg protein); the HBHBcAg vector of the present invention may delete part or all of amino acids 145 to 189 of the HBHBcAg protein (for example, the deletion of the HBHBcAg protein) 150-189 amino acids).

Furthermore, the inventors of the present application have surprisingly discovered that the polypeptide vector of the present invention is particularly suitable for use in displaying epitopes derived from human hepatitis B virus (e.g., epitopes in HBsAg from human HBV), capable of being induced in a subject A particularly strong specific immune response against HBsAg is significantly superior to existing hepatitis B vaccines (eg, vaccines containing the same epitope constructed with human HBV HBcAg as a polypeptide vector). Accordingly, the present invention also provides a polypeptide vector that is particularly suitable for use in displaying epitopes derived from human hepatitis B virus.

Accordingly, in one aspect, the invention provides a nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide vector or a variant thereof, the variant having at least 90% (eg, at least 91) The identity of %, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99%), or under stringent conditions or high stringency conditions, with the nucleoside Acid sequence hybridization, wherein the polypeptide carrier is selected from the group consisting of:

(1) RBHBcAg vector which differs from the core antigen protein of hoof hemiver hepatitis B virus (RBHBcAg; for example, its amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 1) in that: (a) the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein is 78- One or more amino acid residues in the amino acid residue at position 83 (eg, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 amino acid residues; for example, amino acid residues 78-83, The amino acid residues 78-82, amino acid residues 78-81, or amino acid residues 78-80 are deleted or replaced with a linker (eg, a flexible linker; eg, as SEQ ID NO: 43 The linker shown); and (b) optionally, the C-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein is deleted by 1-40 amino acid residues (eg, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20) , 20-25, 25-30, 30-35, or 35-40 amino acid residues);

(2) A TBHBcAg vector which differs from the core antigen protein of TB-hepatitis B virus (TBHBcAg; for example, its amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 2) in that: (a) the N-terminal 80th of the TBHBcAg protein One or more amino acid residues in the -84 amino acid residue (for example, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 amino acid residues; for example, amino acid residues 80-84, 80- The amino acid residue at position 83 or the amino acid residue at positions 80-82 is deleted or replaced with a linker (for example, a flexible linker; for example, a linker as shown in SEQ ID NO: 43); and (b) Optionally, the C-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein is deleted from 1 to 35 amino acid residues (eg, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, Or 30-35 amino acid residues); or

(3) HBHBcAg vector, which differs from the core antigen protein of HBV Hepatitis B virus (HBHBcAg; for example, its amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 3) in that: (a) the N-terminal 78 of the HBHBcAg protein One or more amino acid residues in the -83 amino acid residue (eg, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 amino acid residues; for example, amino acid residues 78-83, The amino acid residues 78-82, amino acid residues 78-81, or amino acid residues 78-80 are deleted or replaced with a linker (eg, a flexible linker; eg, as SEQ ID NO: The linker shown by 43); and (b) optionally, the C-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein is deleted by 1-40 amino acid residues (for example, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20) , 20-25, 25-30, 30-35, or 35-40 ammonia Acid residue).

In a preferred embodiment, the variant has at least 90% identity to the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide carrier, eg, at least 91%, at least 92%, at least 93%, at least 94%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity.

In a preferred embodiment, the variant is capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide carrier under stringent conditions. In a preferred embodiment, the variant is capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide carrier under high stringency conditions.

In a preferred embodiment, the RBHBcAg protein is wild-type RBHBcAg. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the RBHBcAg protein is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1.

In a preferred embodiment, the RBHBcAg vector differs from the RBHBcAg protein by one or more contiguous amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein (eg, 1, 2, 3) , 4, 5 or 6 contiguous amino acid residues) were deleted or replaced with a linker. For example, the N-terminal amino acid residues 78-83, amino acids 78-82, amino acid residues 78-81, amino acid residues 78-80, and amino acid residues 78-79 of the RBHBcAg protein Base, amino acid residues 79-83, amino acid residues 79-82, amino acid residues 79-81, amino acid residues 79-80, amino acid residues 80-83, 80- 82 amino acid residues, amino acid residues 80-81, amino acid residues 81-83, amino acid residues 81-82, amino acid residues 82-83, amino acid residue 78, The amino acid residue at position 79, the amino acid residue at position 80, the amino acid residue at position 81, the amino acid residue at position 82, or the amino acid residue at position 83 may be deleted or replaced with a linker. In a preferred embodiment, the connector is for example a flexible connector. Such flexible linkers are well known to those skilled in the art, for example, GGGGGSGGGGTGSEFGGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 43).

In a preferred embodiment, the RBHBcAg vector differs from the RBHBcAg protein in that: (1) one or more contiguous amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein (eg, 1, 2) , 3, 4, 5 or 6 contiguous amino acid residues) are deleted or replaced by a linker as defined above; and (2) RBHBcAg The C-terminus of the protein is deleted by 1-40 amino acid residues. In a preferred embodiment, the C-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein is deleted 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, 30-35, Or 35-40 amino acid residues; for example, 1 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 are deleted 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, or 40 amino acid residues.

In a preferred embodiment, the TBHBcAg protein is wild-type TBHBcAg. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the TBHBcAg protein is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2.

In a preferred embodiment, the TBHBcAg vector differs from the TBHBcAg protein by one or more contiguous amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 80-84 of the N-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein (eg, 1, 2, 3) One, four, or five consecutive amino acid residues) were deleted or replaced with a linker. For example, amino acid residues 80-84 at the N-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein, amino acid residues 80-83, amino acid residues 80-82, amino acid residues 80-81, amino acid residues 81-84 Base, amino acid residues 81-83, amino acid residues 81-82, amino acid residues 82-84, amino acid residues 82-83, amino acid residues 83-84, 80th The amino acid residue, the 81st amino acid residue, the 82nd amino acid residue, the 83rd amino acid residue, or the 84th amino acid residue may be deleted or replaced with a linker. In a preferred embodiment, the connector is for example a flexible connector. Such flexible linkers are well known to those skilled in the art, for example, GGGGGSGGGGTGSEFGGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 43).

In a preferred embodiment, the TBHBcAg vector differs from the TBHBcAg protein in that: (1) one or more contiguous amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 80-84 of the N-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein (eg, 1, 2) , 3, 4, or 5 contiguous amino acid residues) are deleted or replaced with a linker, as defined above; and (2) the C-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein is deleted by 1-35 amino acid residues. In a preferred embodiment, the C-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein is deleted 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, or 30-35 Amino acid residues; for example, deleted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, twenty two, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, or 35 amino acid residues.

In a preferred embodiment, the HBHBcAg protein is wild-type HBHBcAg. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the HBHBcAg protein is set forth in SEQ ID NO:3.

In a preferred embodiment, the HBHBcAg vector differs from the HBHBcAg protein by one or more contiguous amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein (eg, 1, 2, 3) , 4, 5 or 6 contiguous amino acid residues) were deleted or replaced with a linker. For example, the N-terminal amino acid residues 78-83 of the HBHBcAg protein, the amino acid residues 78-82, the amino acid residues 78-81, the amino acid residues 78-80, and the amino acid residues 78-79 Base, amino acid residues 79-83, amino acid residues 79-82, amino acid residues 79-81, amino acid residues 79-80, amino acid residues 80-83, 80- 82 amino acid residues, amino acid residues 80-81, amino acid residues 81-83, amino acid residues 81-82, amino acid residues 82-83, amino acid residue 78, The amino acid residue at position 79, the amino acid residue at position 80, the amino acid residue at position 81, the amino acid residue at position 82, or the amino acid residue at position 83 may be deleted or replaced with a linker. In a preferred embodiment, the connector is for example a flexible connector. Such flexible linkers are well known to those skilled in the art, for example, GGGGGSGGGGTGSEFGGGGSGGGGS (SEQ ID NO: 43).

In a preferred embodiment, the HBHBcAg vector differs from the HBHBcAg protein in that: (1) one or more contiguous amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein (eg, 1, 2) , 3, 4, 5 or 6 contiguous amino acid residues) are deleted or replaced by a linker as defined above; and (2) 1 to 40 amino acid residues are deleted at the C-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein . In a preferred embodiment, the C-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein is deleted 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, 30-35, Or 35-40 amino acid residues; for example, 1 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 are deleted 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, or 40 amino acid residues.

The introduction of restriction sites is particularly advantageous, as is known to those skilled in the art. Thus, in a preferred embodiment, in the nucleic acid molecule of the invention, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is introduced at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues. In a preferred embodiment, in the nucleic acid molecule of the invention, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is introduced in the nucleotide sequence encoding the linker and/or one or both ends thereof. In a preferred embodiment, one or more restriction sites are introduced in the nucleic acid molecule of the invention and/or one or both of its ends. Various restriction sites are known to those skilled in the art, including, but not limited to, restriction enzymes such as EcoR I, BamH I, Hind II, Hind III, Hpa I, Hpa II, Mbo I, Mbo II, and the like. Identification of the cleavage site.

In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide vector is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 4-9.

In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 12-17.

In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule is used to insert a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of interest. For example, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues, or inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding the linker or one end thereof Or both ends. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted in-frame into the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide vector. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide vector using a restriction enzyme cleavage site.

In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule further comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of interest, wherein the polypeptide of interest is heterologous to the polypeptide carrier, and the polypeptide encoding the polypeptide of interest The nucleotide sequence is inserted at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues, or inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding the linker or one or both ends thereof. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted in-frame into the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide vector. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide vector using a restriction enzyme cleavage site.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is an antigen or An epitope peptide having an epitope. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide, such as an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV, particularly human HBV.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the group consisting of HBsAg of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of HBsAg (eg, a linear epitope). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is an RBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, HBsAg from human HBV) Epitope (eg linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a TBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, HBsAg from human HBV) Epitope (eg linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a HBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, HBsAg from human HBV) Epitope (eg linear epitope)).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the HBsAg protein of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of the HBsAg protein (eg, a linear epitope). In a preferred embodiment, the HBV is selected from the group consisting of HBV genotypes A, B, C and D. In a preferred embodiment, the epitope of the HBsAg protein is amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the GP120 protein of HIV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a GP120 protein (eg, a linear epitope). In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is amino acids 361-375 of the GP120 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from a human PD-L1 protein or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope (eg, a linear epitope) of a human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is amino acids 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein.

In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 20-22 and 60-62. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule comprises or consists of a nucleotide encoding an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-40 and 69-74 Sequence composition.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a vector comprising a nucleic acid molecule of the invention as defined above.

Vectors useful for insertion of a polynucleotide of interest (e.g., a nucleic acid molecule of the invention) are well known in the art and include, but are not limited to, cloning vectors and expression vectors. In a preferred embodiment, the vector of the invention may be a eukaryotic expression vector or a prokaryotic expression vector. In a preferred embodiment, the vector of the invention is, for example, a plasmid, a cosmid, or a bacteriophage or the like.

In another aspect, the invention also relates to a host cell comprising the nucleic acid molecule or vector described above. Such host cells include, but are not limited to, prokaryotic cells such as E. coli cells, and eukaryotic cells such as yeast cells, insect cells, plant cells, and animal cells (eg, mammalian cells, such as mouse cells, human cells, etc.). The host cell of the invention may also be a cell line, such as a 293T cell.

In another aspect, the invention features a method of displaying a polypeptide of interest, comprising:

(1) inserting a nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest into a nucleic acid molecule of the present invention (in particular, inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide carrier), thereby obtaining a nucleic acid molecule encoding a recombinant protein;

(2) expressing the nucleic acid molecule encoding the recombinant protein in the step (1) as a recombinant protein.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is heterologous to the polypeptide carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues, or inserted into a nucleoside encoding the linker In the acid sequence or at one or both ends. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted in-frame into the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide vector. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide vector using a restriction enzyme cleavage site.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises either an antigen or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is a table A peptide, for example, an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV).

In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 20-22 and 60-62. In a preferred embodiment, the nucleic acid molecule encoding the recombinant protein comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-40 and 69-74.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a recombinant protein comprising a polypeptide vector and a polypeptide of interest, wherein the polypeptide vector is as defined above, and wherein the polypeptide of interest is inserted into the polypeptide vector.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is inserted at the position of the deleted one or more amino acid residues, or inserted into the linker or at one or both ends thereof.

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises either an antigen or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide, such as an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV, particularly human HBV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the group consisting of HBsAg of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of HBsAg (eg, a linear epitope).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is an RBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, HBsAg from human HBV) Epitope (eg linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a TBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, HBsAg from human HBV) Epitope (eg linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a HBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, HBsAg from human HBV) Epitope (eg linear epitope)).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the GP120 protein of HIV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a GP120 protein (eg, a linear epitope). In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is 361-375 of the GP120 protein Amino acid. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from a human PD-L1 protein or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope (eg, a linear epitope) of a human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is amino acid 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein.

In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 20-22 and 60-62. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide vector is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 4-9. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-40 and 69-74.

In another aspect, the invention features a virus-like particle comprising or consisting of a recombinant protein of the invention.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a pharmaceutical composition (eg, a vaccine) comprising a recombinant protein of the invention or a virus-like particle of the invention, and, optionally, one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers ( Vehicle) or excipient (eg adjuvant). In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein of the invention or the virus-like particle of the invention is present in the pharmaceutical composition in an effective amount. For example, the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may comprise recombinant protein or virus-like particles in an amount effective to prevent or treat HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (for example, hepatitis B).

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of preventing or treating a HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (eg, hepatitis B), comprising administering a recombinant protein of the present invention to a subject in need thereof or A virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition, wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises an epitope from HBV, particularly human HBV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HBV, particularly human HBV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the group consisting of HBsAg of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of HBsAg (eg, a linear epitope).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is an RBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg Linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, The polypeptide vector is a TBHBcAg vector, and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope derived from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope (eg, a linear epitope) of HBsAg from human HBV). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a HBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg eg Linear epitope)).

In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 22 and 60-62. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 35-40 and 69-74.

In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition of the invention is administered in an amount effective to prevent or treat HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (eg, hepatitis B).

In another aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the above recombinant protein or virus-like particle for the preparation of a medicament for preventing or treating a HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (for example, hepatitis B), wherein said The polypeptide of interest comprises an epitope derived from HBV, particularly human HBV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HBV, particularly human HBV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the group consisting of HBsAg of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of HBsAg (eg, a linear epitope).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is an RBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg Linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a TBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg eg Linear gauge)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a HBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg eg Linear epitope)).

In another aspect, the present invention relates to the above recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating a HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (for example, hepatitis B), wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises Epitope of HBV (especially human HBV). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HBV, particularly human HBV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the group consisting of HBsAg of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of HBsAg (eg, a linear epitope).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is an RBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg Linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a TBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg eg Linear epitope)). In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide vector is a HBHBcAg vector and the epitope peptide comprises or is an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV) (eg, an epitope from HBsAg of human HBV (eg eg Linear epitope)).

In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the HBsAg protein of human HBV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of the HBsAg protein (eg, a linear epitope). In a In a preferred embodiment, the HBV is selected from the group consisting of HBV genotypes A, B, C and D. In a preferred embodiment, the epitope of the HBsAg protein is amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of preventing or treating HIV infection or a disease associated with HIV infection (eg, AIDS), comprising administering a recombinant protein or virus sample of the present invention to a subject in need thereof A particle or pharmaceutical composition wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises an epitope from HIV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the GP120 protein of HIV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a GP120 protein (eg, a linear epitope).

In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is amino acids 361-375 of the GP120 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 20. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-28.

In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition of the invention is administered in an amount effective to prevent or treat HIV infection or a disease associated with HIV infection (e.g., AIDS).

In another aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the above recombinant protein or virus-like particle for the preparation of a medicament for preventing or treating HIV infection or a disease associated with HIV infection (for example, AIDS), wherein the polypeptide of interest Contains epitopes from HIV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the GP120 protein of HIV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a GP120 protein (eg, a linear epitope).

In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is a GP120 protein Amino acids 361-375. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 20. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-28.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to the above recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating HIV infection or a disease associated with HIV infection (for example, AIDS), wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises from HIV Epitope. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from the GP120 protein of HIV or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a GP120 protein (eg, a linear epitope).

In another aspect, the present invention relates to a method of preventing or treating cancer (eg, non-small cell lung cancer) comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition of the present invention Wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises an epitope of a human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from a human PD-L1 protein or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope (eg, a linear epitope) of a human PD-L1 protein.

In a preferred embodiment, the epitope peptide comprises or is amino acid 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is set forth in SEQ ID NO:21. In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 29-34.

In a preferred embodiment, the recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition of the invention is administered in an amount effective to prevent or treat cancer (eg, non-small cell lung cancer).

In another aspect, the present invention relates to the use of the above recombinant protein or virus-like particle for the preparation of a medicament for preventing or treating cancer (for example, non-small cell lung cancer), wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises human PD-L1 The epitope of the protein. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from a human PD-L1 protein or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope (eg, a linear epitope) of a human PD-L1 protein.

In another aspect, the present invention relates to the above recombinant protein or virus-like particle or pharmaceutical composition for preventing or treating cancer (for example, non-small cell lung cancer), wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises an antigenic epitope of human PD-L1 protein Bit. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a human PD-L1 protein. In a preferred embodiment, the polypeptide of interest comprises or is selected from a human PD-L1 protein or an epitope peptide comprising an epitope (eg, a linear epitope) of a human PD-L1 protein.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a polynucleotide encoding the above recombinant protein and a vector comprising the polynucleotide.

Vectors useful for insertion of a polynucleotide of interest are well known in the art and include, but are not limited to, cloning vectors and expression vectors. In a preferred embodiment, the vector of the invention may be a eukaryotic expression vector or a prokaryotic expression vector. In a preferred embodiment, the vector of the invention is, for example, a plasmid, a cosmid, or a bacteriophage or the like.

In another aspect, the invention also relates to a host fine comprising the above polynucleotide or vector Cell. Such host cells include, but are not limited to, prokaryotic cells such as E. coli cells, and eukaryotic cells such as yeast cells, insect cells, plant cells, and animal cells (eg, mammalian cells, such as mouse cells, human cells, etc.). The host cell of the invention may also be a cell line, such as a 293T cell.

In another aspect, the present invention is also a method of producing the above recombinant protein, which comprises culturing a host cell of the present invention under conditions suitable for expression of the recombinant protein, and recovering the recombinant protein.

Description and explanation of related terms in the present invention

In the present invention, the scientific and technical terms used herein have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise stated. Moreover, the cell culture, molecular genetics, nucleic acid chemistry, and immunology laboratory procedures used herein are all routine steps widely used in the corresponding art. Also, for a better understanding of the present invention, definitions and explanations of related terms are provided below.

As used herein, the term "RBHBcAg" and "RBHBcAg protein" refer to a core antigenic protein from roundleaf bat HBV (RBHBV), It is well known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, NCBI GENBANK database accession number: KC790373.1).

As used herein, when referring to the amino acid sequence of the RBHBcAg protein, it is described using the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 1. For example, the expression "amino acid residues 78-83 at the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein" means the amino acid residues 78-83 of the polypeptide represented by SEQ ID NO: 1. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that mutations or mutations (including but not limited to, substitutions, deletions and/or additions, such as RBHBcAg proteins of different genotypes or subtypes) may be naturally occurring or artificially introduced in the amino acid sequence of the RBHBcAg protein. ) without affecting its biological function. Thus, in the present invention, the term "RBHBcAg protein" shall include all such sequences, including, for example, the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 1 as well as natural or artificial variants thereof. Also, when describing a sequence fragment of the RBHBcAg protein, it includes not only the sequence fragment of SEQ ID NO: 1, but also the corresponding sequence fragment in its natural or artificial variant. For example, the expression "amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein" package The amino acid residues 78-83 of SEQ ID NO: 1, and the corresponding fragments thereof (natural or artificial). According to the invention, the expression "corresponding sequence fragment" or "corresponding fragment" means that when the sequences are optimally aligned, ie when the sequences are aligned to obtain the highest percentage identity, the sequences to be compared are in the equivalent position. Fragment of.

As used herein, the term "wild-type RBHBcAg" refers to a core antigenic protein that is naturally found in the hoofed hepatitis B virus.

As used herein, the term "RBHBcAg vector" refers to a polypeptide vector derived from an RBHBcAg protein. As described in detail above, the RBHBcAg vector differs from the RBHBcAg protein in that: (a) one or more amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein are deleted or replaced with a linker. And (b) optionally, the C-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein is deleted by 1-40 amino acid residues.

As used herein, the term "TBHBcAg" and "TBHBcAg protein" of the bat hepatitis B virus are referred to as tent-making bat HBV (TBHBV). Core antigenic proteins, which are well known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, NCBI GENBANK database accession number: KC790378.1).

As used herein, when referring to the amino acid sequence of the TBHBcAg protein, it is described using the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 2. For example, the expression "amino acid residues at positions N-80 of the TBHBcAg protein" refers to amino acid residues 80-84 of the polypeptide represented by SEQ ID NO: 2. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that mutations or mutations (including but not limited to, substitutions, deletions and/or additions, such as different genotypes or subtypes of TBHBcAg protein) may be naturally occurring or artificially introduced in the amino acid sequence of the TBHBcAg protein. ) without affecting its biological function. Thus, in the present invention, the term "TBHBcAg protein" shall include all such sequences, including, for example, the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 2, as well as natural or artificial variants thereof. Also, when describing a sequence fragment of the TBHBcAg protein, it includes not only the sequence fragment of SEQ ID NO: 2 but also the corresponding sequence fragment in its natural or artificial variant. For example, the expression "amino acid residues at positions N-80 of the TBHBcAg protein" includes amino acid residues 80-84 of SEQ ID NO: 2, and corresponding fragments thereof in variants (natural or artificial). According to the invention, the expression "corresponding sequence fragment" or "corresponding fragment" means that when the sequences are optimally aligned, ie when the sequences are aligned, the highest percentage is obtained. In the case of number identity, a segment located at an equivalent position in the compared sequence.

As used herein, the term "wild-type TBHBcAg" refers to a core antigenic protein that is naturally found in the bat hepatitis B virus.

As used herein, the term "TBHBcAg vector" refers to a polypeptide vector derived from a TBHBcAg protein. As described in detail above, the TBHBcAg vector differs from the TBHBcAg protein in that: (a) one or more amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 80-84 of the N-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein are deleted or replaced with a linker. And (b) optionally, the C-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein is deleted from 1 to 35 amino acid residues.

As used herein, the terms "HBHBcAg" and "HBHBcAg protein" refer to a core antigen from horseshoe bat HBV (HBHBV). Proteins, which are well known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, NCBI GENBANK database accession number: KC790377.1).

As used herein, when referring to the amino acid sequence of the HBHBcAg protein, it is described using the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 3. For example, the expression "amino acid residue at positions N-78-83 of the HBHBcAg protein" means the amino acid residues 78-83 of the polypeptide represented by SEQ ID NO: 3. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that mutations or mutations (including but not limited to, substitutions, deletions and/or additions, such as HBHBcAg proteins of different genotypes or subtypes) may be naturally occurring or artificially introduced in the amino acid sequence of the HBHBcAg protein. ) without affecting its biological function. Thus, in the present invention, the term "HBHBcAg protein" shall include all such sequences, including, for example, the sequences set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3, as well as natural or artificial variants thereof. Also, when describing a sequence fragment of the HBHBcAg protein, it includes not only the sequence fragment of SEQ ID NO: 3 but also the corresponding sequence fragment in its natural or artificial variant. For example, the expression "amino acid residues at positions N-78-83 of the HBHBcAg protein" includes amino acid residues 78-83 of SEQ ID NO: 3, and corresponding fragments thereof in variants (natural or artificial). According to the invention, the expression "corresponding sequence fragment" or "corresponding fragment" means that when the sequences are optimally aligned, ie when the sequences are aligned to obtain the highest percentage identity, the sequences to be compared are in the equivalent position. Fragment of.

As used herein, the term "wild-type HBHBcAg" refers to a core antigenic protein that is naturally found in the Helicoverpa armigera hepatitis B virus.

As used herein, the term "HBHBcAg vector" refers to a polypeptide vector derived from a HBHBcAg protein. As described in detail above, the HBHBcAg vector differs from the HBHBcAg protein in that: (a) one or more amino acid residues in the amino acid residues 78-83 of the N-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein are deleted or replaced with a linker. And (b) optionally, the C-terminus of the HBHBcAg protein is deleted by 1-40 amino acid residues.

As used herein, the terms "HBcAg of human HBV" and "Hu-HBcAg" refer to the core antigenic protein of human hepatitis B virus, which is well known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, the NCBI GENBANK database accession number). :AAO63517.1). As used herein, when referring to the amino acid sequence of HBcAg of human HBV, it is described using the sequence shown in NCBI GENBANK database accession number: AAO63517.1.

As used herein, the terms "HBsAg of human HBV" and "Hu-HBsAg" refer to the surface antigen major protein of human hepatitis B virus, which is well known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, NCBI GENBANK database login) No.: AAF24729.1).

As used herein, when referring to the amino acid sequence of HBsAg of human HBV, it is described using the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 44 (ie, NCBI GENBANK database accession number: AAF24729.1). For example, the expression "amino acid residues 113-135 of the HBsAg protein" refers to amino acid residues 113 to 135 of the polypeptide represented by SEQ ID NO: 44. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that mutations or mutations (including but not limited to, substitutions, deletions and/or additions, such as HBsAg proteins of different genotypes or subtypes) may be naturally occurring or artificially introduced in the amino acid sequence of the HBsAg protein. ) without affecting its biological function. Thus, in the present invention, the term "HBsAg protein" shall include all such sequences, including, for example, the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 44, as well as natural or artificial variants thereof. Also, when describing a sequence fragment of the HBsAg protein, it includes not only the sequence fragment of SEQ ID NO: 44 but also the corresponding sequence fragment in its natural or artificial variant. For example, the expression "amino acid residues 113-135 of the HBsAg protein" includes the amino acid residues 113-135 of SEQ ID NO: 44, and the corresponding fragments thereof (natural or artificial). According to the invention, the expression "corresponding sequence fragment" or "corresponding fragment" means that when the sequences are optimally aligned, ie when the sequences are aligned to obtain the highest percentage identity, the sequences to be compared are in the equivalent position. Fragment of.

As used herein, the expression "the deletion of Y amino acid residues at the C-terminus of the X protein" means that the last Y amino acid residues at the C-terminus of the X protein are all removed. For example, the expression "the C-terminal deletion of 1 to 40 amino acid residues of the RBHBcAg protein" means that the last 1-40 amino acid residues at the C-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein are all removed.

As used herein, the term "identity" is used to mean the matching of sequences between two polypeptides or between two nucleic acids. When a position in the two sequences being compared is occupied by the same base or amino acid monomer subunit (for example, a position in each of the two DNA molecules is occupied by adenine, or two Each position in each of the polypeptides is occupied by lysine, and then each molecule is identical at that position. The "percent identity" between the two sequences is a function of the number of matching positions shared by the two sequences divided by the number of positions to be compared x 100. For example, if 6 of the 10 positions of the two sequences match, then the two sequences have 60% identity. For example, the DNA sequences CTGACT and CAGGTT share 50% identity (3 out of a total of 6 positions match). Typically, the comparison is made when the two sequences are aligned to produce maximum identity. Such alignment can be achieved by, for example, the method of Needleman et al. (1970) J. Mol. Biol. 48: 443-453, which can be conveniently performed by a computer program such as the Align program (DNAstar, Inc.). The algorithm of E. Meyers and W. Miller (Comput. Appl Biosci., 4:11-17 (1988)), which has been integrated into the ALIGN program (version 2.0), can also be used, using the PAM120 weight residue table (weight residue) Table), a gap length penalty of 12 and a gap penalty of 4 to determine the percent identity between the two amino acid sequences. In addition, the Needleman and Wunsch (J MoI Biol. 48:444-453 (1970)) algorithms in the GAP program integrated into the GCG software package (available at www.gcg.com) can be used, using the Blos sum 62 matrix. Or the PAM250 matrix and the gap weight of 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6 or 4 and the length weight of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 to determine the same percentage between the two amino acid sequences Sex.

As used herein, the term "conservative substitution" means an amino acid substitution that does not adversely affect or alter the essential properties of a protein/polypeptide comprising an amino acid sequence. For example, conservative substitutions can be introduced by standard techniques known in the art, such as site-directed mutagenesis and PCR-mediated mutagenesis. Conservative amino acid substitutions include the replacement of amino acid residues with amino acid residues with similar side chains Substituent substitutions, for example, using residues that are physically or functionally similar to corresponding amino acid residues (eg, having similar size, shape, charge, chemical properties, including the ability to form covalent or hydrogen bonds, etc.) Replacement. A family of amino acid residues having similar side chains has been defined in the art. These families include basic side chains (eg, lysine, arginine, and histidine), acidic side chains (eg, aspartic acid, glutamic acid), uncharged polar side chains (eg, glycine) , asparagine, glutamine, serine, threonine, tyrosine, cysteine, tryptophan), non-polar side chains (eg alanine, valine, leucine, isoluminescence) Acid, valine, phenylalanine, methionine), beta branch side chains (eg, threonine, valine, isoleucine) and aromatic side chains (eg, tyrosine, Amino acids of phenylalanine, tryptophan, histidine). Therefore, it is preferred to replace the corresponding amino acid residue with another amino acid residue from the same side chain family. Methods for identifying conservative substitutions of amino acids are well known in the art (see, for example, Brummell et al, Biochem. 32: 1180-1187 (1993); Kobayashi et al., Protein Eng. 12 (10): 879-884 (1999). And Burks et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Set USA 94: 412-417 (1997), which is incorporated herein by reference.

As used herein, the term "hybridization" refers to the anneal of two single-stranded nucleic acid molecules having complementary sequences to each other under conditions (suitable temperature and ionic strength, etc.) to form double-stranded nucleic acids on a base-pairing basis. the process of. Nucleic acid hybridization can be carried out between DNA-DNA, or between DNA-RNA or RNA-RNA, as long as there is a complementary sequence between them, base pairing can be performed. For a further detailed description of nucleic acid hybridization, see, for example, Henegariu O et al, (1999). "Custom fluorescent-nucleotide synthesis as an alternative method for nucleic acid labeling", Nature Biotechnology 18: 345-348; Ezaki T et al, 1989. Fluorometric Deoxyribonucleic Acid-Deoxyribonucleic Acid Hybridization in Microdilution Wells as an Alternative to Membrane Filter Hybridization in which Radioisotopes Are Used To Determine Genetic Relatedness among Bacterial Strains. Int. J. of Systemic Bacteriology 29(3): 224-229; and Herrington C et al., 1998. PCR 3: PCR in situ hybridization: a practical Approach, Volume 3.Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In order to ensure the specificity of nucleic acid hybridization, stringent conditions or high stringency conditions are usually used. Stringent conditions and high stringency conditions are well known in the field of molecular biology. For example, stringent conditions may mean that hybridization is carried out in 6X sodium chloride/sodium citrate (SSC) at about 45 ° C, followed by 0.2-SSC/0.1% SDS at about 50-65 ° C. Wash one or more times. High stringency conditions may mean that hybridization is carried out in 6 x SSC at about 45 °C followed by one or more washes in 0.1 x SSC/0.2% SDS at about 68 °C. For other stringent conditions or high stringency conditions known to those skilled in the art, see, for example, Ausubel, FM et al, 1989, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Vol. 1, Green Publishing Associates, Inc., and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, pages 6.3.1-6.3.6 and 2.10.3.

As used herein, the term "linker" refers to a short peptide used to join two molecules, such as a protein. Such linkers are well known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, flexible linkers such as (Gly) ₄ , (Gly) ₄ -Ser, ((Gly) ₄ -Ser) ₃ and the like.

In the present invention, the terms "polypeptide" and "protein" have the same meaning and are used interchangeably. Also in the present invention, amino acids are generally represented by single letter and three letter abbreviations as are known in the art. For example, alanine can be represented by A or Ala.

As used herein, the term "restriction site" refers to a restriction site recognized by a restriction endonuclease. Such restriction sites are known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, restriction enzymes such as EcoR I, BamH I, Hind II, Hind III, Hpa I, Hpa II, Mbo I, Mbo II and the like. Identification of the cleavage site.

As used herein, the terms "epitope" and "epitope" refer to a site on an antigen that is specifically bound by an immunoglobulin or antibody. "Epitope" is also referred to in the art as an "antigenic determinant." An epitope or antigenic determinant typically consists of a chemically active surface group of a molecule, such as an amino acid or a carbohydrate or sugar side chain, and typically has specific three dimensional structural characteristics as well as specific charge characteristics. For example, an epitope typically includes at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15 consecutive or non-contiguous amino acids in a unique spatial conformation, which may be "linear" "or" conformational. See, for example, Epitope Mapping Protocols in Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 66, G.E. Morris, Ed. (1996). In a linear epitope, the point of all interactions between a protein and an interacting molecule (eg, an antibody) exists linearly along the primary amino acid sequence of the protein. In a conformational epitope, the point of interaction exists across protein amino acid residues that are separated from each other.

As used herein, the term "epitope of HBsAg" refers to a site present in HBsAg that is capable of being specifically bound by an immunoglobulin or antibody. The structure and function of human HBV HBsAg have been studied in depth. Moreover, many literatures have reported epitopes on HBsAg of human HBV. See, for example, WO 97/39029 A2; WO 85/04103 A1; Xiaoxing Qiu et al, The Journal of Immunology, 1996, Vol. 156, pp. 3350-3356; WO 2013/185558A1 and the like.

As used herein, the term "epitope peptide" refers to a peptide segment on an antigen capable of forming an epitope/used as an epitope. In some cases, a single epitope peptide is capable of being specifically recognized/bound by an antibody directed against the epitope. In other cases, it may be desirable to fuse the epitope peptide to the polypeptide carrier so that the epitope peptide can be recognized by the specific antibody. The epitope contained in the epitope peptide may be a linear epitope or a conformational epitope. When the epitope peptide comprises a linear epitope, it may comprise or be a contiguous stretch of amino acids (ie, peptide fragments) that constitute the epitope in the antigen. When the epitope peptide comprises a conformational epitope, it may comprise or be a contiguous stretch of amino acids (ie, peptide fragments) in the antigen spanning all of the amino acid residues involved in the conformational epitope. In certain embodiments of the invention, the epitope peptide preferably has a length of no more than 500 amino acid residues, such as a length of no more than 400 amino acid residues, a length of no more than 300 amino acid residues, no more than 200 The length of an amino acid residue, not longer than 100 amino acid residues, not longer than 90 amino acid residues, not longer than 80 amino acid residues, not exceeding 70 amino acid residues, not exceeding 60 The length of the amino acid residue, the length of no more than 50 amino acid residues, the length of no more than 40 amino acid residues, the length of no more than 30 amino acid residues, or the length of no more than 25 amino acid residues.

As used herein, the term "polypeptide carrier" refers to a carrier protein that can serve as a carrier for an epitope peptide, ie, it can be inserted into a epitope at a specific position (eg, inside the protein, N-terminus or C-terminus) The peptide is such that the epitope peptide can be presented such that the epitope peptide can be recognized by the antibody or immune system. Previous carrier literature has reported such carrier proteins, including For example, HPV L1 protein (the epitope peptide can be inserted between amino acids 130-131 of the protein or between amino acids 426-427, see Slippitzky, K. et al. Chimeric papillomavirus-like particles expressing a foreign Epitopes on capsid surface loops[J].J Gen Virol, 2001, 82:2799-2804; Varsani, A., etc. Chimeric human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) L1 particless presenting the common neutralizing epitope for the L2minor capsid protein of HPV- 6 and HPV-16 [J]. J Virol, 2003, 77: 8386-8393), CRM197 protein (the epitope peptide can be linked to the N-terminus or C-terminus of the protein or a fragment thereof) and the like. As discussed above, the present invention provides a new class of polypeptide vectors for use in displaying polypeptides of interest, and is particularly suitable for use in displaying epitopes containing human hepatitis B virus (eg, epitopes in HBsAg from human HBV). An epitope peptide. In an embodiment of the invention, a linker (e.g., a flexible or rigid linker) can be used between the epitope peptide and the polypeptide carrier to facilitate their respective folding.

As used herein, the term "recombinant protein" merely means that the described protein is not naturally occurring and is not intended to define the manner in which the protein is produced/obtained. The recombinant protein of the present invention can be produced by any known method including, but not limited to, genetic engineering methods and synthetic methods.

As used herein, the term "virus-like particle" refers to a hollow particle composed of one or more structural proteins of a virus that does not contain viral nucleic acid and is not capable of autonomous replication, but is morphologically and structurally The real virions are the same or similar.

The term "pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and/or excipient" as used herein refers to a carrier and/or excipient that is pharmacologically and/or physiologically compatible with the subject and the active ingredient, It is well known in the art (see, for example, Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. Edited by Gennaro AR, 19th ed. Pennsylvania: Mack Publishing Company, 1995), and includes, but is not limited to, pH adjusters, surfactants, adjuvants, ionic strength enhancers. . For example, pH adjusting agents include, but are not limited to, phosphate buffers; surfactants include, but are not limited to, cationic, anionic or nonionic surfactants such as Tween-80; ionic strength enhancers include, but are not limited to, sodium chloride.

As used herein, the term "adjuvant" refers to a non-specific immunopotentiator when When it is delivered to the body together with the antigen, it can enhance the body's immune response to the antigen or alter the type of immune response. There are many adjuvants, including but not limited to aluminum adjuvants (such as aluminum hydroxide), Freund's adjuvant (such as complete Freund's adjuvant and incomplete Freund's adjuvant), Corynebacterium parvum, lipopolysaccharide, cytokines, etc. . Freund's adjuvant is the most commonly used adjuvant in animal testing. Aluminum hydroxide adjuvant is used more in clinical trials.

As used herein, the term "E. coli expression system" refers to an expression system consisting of E. coli (strain) and a vector in which E. coli (strain) is derived from commercially available strains, for example but not Limited to: GI698, ER2566, BL21 (DE3), B834 (DE3), BLR (DE3).

As used herein, the term "vector" refers to a nucleic acid vehicle into which a polynucleotide can be inserted. A vector is referred to as an expression vector when the vector enables expression of the protein encoded by the inserted polynucleotide. The vector can be introduced into the host cell by transformation, transduction or transfection, and the genetic material element carried thereby can be expressed in the host cell. Vectors are well known to those skilled in the art and include, but are not limited to, plasmids; phagemids; cosmids; artificial chromosomes, such as yeast artificial chromosomes (YAC), bacterial artificial chromosomes (BAC), or P1 derived artificial chromosomes (PAC). Phage such as lambda phage or M13 phage and animal virus. Animal viruses useful as vectors include, but are not limited to, retroviruses (including lentiviruses), adenoviruses, adeno-associated viruses, herpes viruses (such as herpes simplex virus), poxviruses, baculoviruses, papillomaviruses, nipples Multi-tumor vacuolar virus (such as SV40). A vector may contain a variety of elements that control expression, including, but not limited to, promoter sequences, transcription initiation sequences, enhancer sequences, selection elements, and reporter genes. In addition, the vector may also contain an origin of replication.

As used herein, the term "host cell" refers to a cell that can be used to introduce a vector, including, but not limited to, a prokaryotic cell such as Escherichia coli or Bacillus subtilis, such as a fungal cell such as a yeast cell or an Aspergillus. For example, S2 Drosophila cells or insect cells such as Sf9, or animal cells such as fibroblasts, CHO cells, COS cells, NSO cells, HeLa cells, BHK cells, HEK 293 cells or human cells.

As used herein, the term "subject" refers to a mammal, such as a primate mammal, such as a human.

As used herein, the term "effective amount" refers to an amount sufficient to achieve, or at least partially achieve, a desired effect. For example, an effective amount to prevent a disease (eg, HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection) is an amount sufficient to prevent, prevent, or delay the onset of a disease (eg, HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection); It refers to an amount sufficient to cure or at least partially arrest the disease and its complications in a patient already suffering from the disease. Determination of such an effective amount is well within the capabilities of those skilled in the art. For example, the amount effective for therapeutic use will depend on the severity of the condition to be treated, the overall condition of the patient's own immune system, the general condition of the patient such as age, weight and sex, the mode of administration of the drug, and other treatments for simultaneous administration. and many more.

Advantageous effects of the invention

Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

(1) The present invention provides a novel polypeptide vector which has broad versatility and can be used for efficiently displaying various polypeptides of interest (for example, antigen epitope/antigenic peptide) and inducing the host immune system to produce a purpose. Specific immune response of the polypeptide. Such polypeptides of interest (eg, epitopes/antigenic peptides) include, but are not limited to, epitopes/antigenic peptides derived from HIV (eg, epitopes/antigenic peptides of HIV-derived GP120 proteins; For example, a polypeptide comprising amino acids 361 to 375 of the GP120 protein) derived from an epitope/antigenic peptide of a human PD-L1 protein (for example, a polypeptide comprising amino acids 147 to 160 of the human PD-L1 protein), and An epitope/antigenic peptide derived from human HBV (for example, an epitope/antigenic peptide of a HBsAg protein derived from human HBV; for example, a polypeptide comprising amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein).

(2) The polypeptide vector of the present invention is particularly suitable for displaying an epitope derived from human hepatitis B virus (e.g., an epitope in HBsAg derived from human HBV), and is capable of inducing a particularly strong specific immunity against HBsAg in a subject. The response is significantly superior to existing hepatitis B vaccines (eg, vaccines containing the same epitope constructed with HBcAg of human HBV as a polypeptide vector).

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments, but those skilled in the art will understand that the following drawings and embodiments are only used to illustrate the invention. It is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The various objects and advantageous aspects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the <

DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a cloning scheme for inserting a polypeptide of interest (target antigen peptide) into the RBHBcAg vector, TBHBcAg vector and HBHBcAg vector of the present invention to construct a recombinant protein.

Figure 2 shows the results of SDS-PAGE of the 18 recombinant proteins constructed in Example 2, and the transmission electron microscopic observation results of the virus-like particles formed from the recombinant protein.

Figure 3 is a graph showing the change in antibody titer against the target polypeptide in the recombinant mouse against serum in the serum of BALB/C mice after immunization of BALB/C mice with the virus-like particles formed by the 18 recombinant proteins constructed in Example 2. Vertical axis: antibody titer (log 10); horizontal axis: time (week). Figure 3A: The polypeptide of interest used is SEQ ID NO: 20, and the titer of the anti-GP120 antibody is detected; Figure 3B: the polypeptide of interest used is SEQ ID NO: 21, and the titer of the anti-PD-L1 antibody is detected; Figure 3C: The polypeptide of interest used is SEQ ID NO: 22 and the titer of the anti-HBsAg antibody is detected.

Figure 4 shows the level of HBsAg in serum of mice after treatment of HBV transgenic male (Figure 4A) and female (Figure 4B) mice with different virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22). The change. Vertical axis: level of HBsAg (IU/ml); horizontal axis: time (week). Arrows indicate the time point at which the mice were administered virus-like particles.

Figure 5 shows the level of HBV DNA in mouse serum as a function of time after treatment of HBV transgenic male mice with different virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22). Vertical axis: level of HBV DNA (Log10 IU/ml); horizontal axis: time (week). Arrows indicate the time point at which the mice were administered virus-like particles.

Figure 6 shows the dilution of anti-HBsAg antibodies in mouse serum after treatment of HBV transgenic male (Figure 6A) and female (Figure 6B) mice with different virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22). The degree of change over time. Vertical axis: titer of anti-HBsAg antibody; horizontal axis: time (week).

Fig. 7 shows the results of transmission electron microscopic observation of virus-like particles formed from the six recombinant proteins constructed in Example 5.

Figure 8 shows antibody titers against the corresponding target polypeptide (SEQ ID NO: 60, 22, 61, 62) in mouse sera after immunization of BALB/C mice with virus-like particles of 8 recombinant proteins for 3 weeks. Wherein, the epitope peptide of HBsAg protein from HBV genotype A (SEQ ID NO: 60) was used to detect antibody titers of mouse sera immunized with RBHBcAg149-SEQ60 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ60; with HBV genotype B The epitope peptide of HBsAg protein (SEQ ID NO: SEQ22) to detect antibody titer of mouse sera immunized with RBHccAg149-SEQ22 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ22; epitope peptide with HBsAg protein from HBV genotype C (SEQ ID NO : 61) to detect antibody titers of mouse sera immunized with RBHBcAg149-SEQ61 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ61; and, using an epitope peptide of HBsAg protein from HBV genotype D (SEQ ID NO: 62) for detection of RBHBcAg149- Antibody titers of mouse sera immunized with SEQ62 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ62. The results showed that the virus-like particles formed by the eight recombinant proteins had good immunogenicity and were able to induce high titers of antibodies that specifically bind to the target antigen.

Figure 9 shows that treatment of HBV transgenic males (Figure 9A) and female (Figure 9B) mice with virus-like particles formed from four recombinant proteins (SEQ ID NO: 36, 69, 70, 71) in mouse serum The level of HBsAg changes with time, wherein the vertical axis: the level of HBsAg (IU/ml); the horizontal axis: time (week).

Sequence information

Information on the partial sequences (SEQ ID NOS: 1-44) of the present invention is provided in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Sequence information of SEQ ID NO: 1-44

detailed description

The invention is described with reference to the following examples which are intended to illustrate, but not limit the invention.

Unless otherwise specified, the molecular biology experimental methods and immunoassays used in the present invention are basically referred to J. Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1989, and FMAusubel et al., Guide to Editing Molecular Biology, Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995; restriction endonucleases are used according to the conditions recommended by the product manufacturer. The invention is described by way of example, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Example 1. Construction of a plasmid encoding a polypeptide vector

In this example, we constructed a plasmid encoding a polypeptide vector.

1.1 Preparation of a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide carrier

Based on three bat-derived hepatitis B virus core antigen proteins (ie, RBHBcAg protein, TBHBcAg protein, HBHBcAg protein), the following polypeptide vectors were designed:

The RBHBcAg189 vector differs from the RBHBcAg protein (SEQ ID NO: 1) in that the amino acid residues 78-81 of the RBHBcAg protein are replaced with the linker shown in SEQ ID NO: 43; the amino acid sequence of the RBHBcAg189 vector is as SEQ ID NO: 4, the nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 12;

TBHBcAg188 vector differs from TBHBcAg protein (SEQ ID NO: 2) in that amino acid residues 80-83 of RBHBcAg protein are replaced by SEQ ID NO: 43 The linker shown; the amino acid sequence of the TBHBcAg188 vector is shown in SEQ ID NO: 6, and the nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 14.

The HBHBcAg189 vector differs from the HBHBcAg protein (SEQ ID NO: 3) in that the amino acid residues 78-81 of the RBHBcAg protein are replaced with a linker as shown in SEQ ID NO: 43; the amino acid sequence of the HBHBcAg189 vector is as SEQ ID NO: 8, the nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 16.

In addition, based on the HBcAg protein of human HBV, the HBcAg183 vector was designed and used as a control. The HBcAg183 vector differs from the HBcAg protein of human HBV in that the amino acid residues 79-81 of the HBcAg protein of human HBV are replaced with a linker as shown in SEQ ID NO: 43; the amino acid sequence of the HBcAg183 vector is SEQ ID NO: As shown in FIG. 10, the nucleotide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 18.

The nucleotide sequences of the above four vectors were all entrusted to Biotech Engineering Shanghai (Stock) Co., Ltd. for whole gene synthesis.

1.2 Preparation of a plasmid encoding a polypeptide vector

Using the nucleotide sequence synthesized above as a template, the full-length genes of the above four vectors and the truncated bodies thereof (i.e., C-terminally truncated gene fragments) were amplified by PCR using the primers in Table 2. A total of 8 PCR products were obtained, namely: the gene encoding RBHBcAg189 vector (SEQ ID NO: 12; the encoded amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 4), the gene encoding RBHBcAg149 vector (SEQ ID NO: 13; The amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 5), the gene encoding the TBHBcAg188 vector (SEQ ID NO: 14; the encoded amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 6), the gene encoding the TBHBcAg153 vector (SEQ ID NO: 15; The amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 7), the gene encoding the HBHBcAg189 vector (SEQ ID NO: 16; the encoded amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 8), the gene encoding the HBHBcAg149 vector (SEQ ID NO: 17; The amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 9), the gene encoding the HBcAg183 vector (SEQ ID NO: 18; the encoded amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 10), and the gene encoding the HBcAg149 vector (SEQ ID NO: 19; The amino acid sequence is SEQ ID NO: 11).

The pTO-T7 vector was used with NdeI and HindIII (Luo Wenxin, Zhang Jun, Yang Haijie, et al. Construction and preliminary application of a prokaryotic expression vector with enhancer [J]. Chinese Journal of Biotechnology, 2000, 16(5): 578-581) Double enzyme digestion to obtain a linearized vector. The obtained 8 PCR products were ligated with a linearized vector and transformed into DH5a competent bacteria using the Gibson assembly cloning method (New England Biolabs (UK) Ltd). The transformed bacteria were plated, then monoclonal colonies were picked, plasmids were extracted and sequenced. As verified by sequencing, 8 plasmids containing the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide vector were obtained.

The primers involved in the above PCR process are shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Primer sequences

Example 2. Preparation of recombinant protein

In the present example, we inserted the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest into the plasmid constructed in Example 1, and obtained a recombinant protein containing the polypeptide of interest and the polypeptide carrier. A schematic diagram of a cloning protocol for inserting a polypeptide of interest (target antigen peptide) into the RBHBcAg vector, TBHBcAg vector and HBHBcAg vector of the present invention to construct a recombinant protein is shown in FIG.

2.1 Construction of an expression plasmid encoding a recombinant protein containing a polypeptide of interest and a polypeptide vector

This example utilizes three polypeptides of interest to verify that the polypeptide vector of the present invention is used to display peptides The versatility of the segment. The three polypeptides of interest are: the polypeptide HIV-GP120-aa361-375 (ie, amino acids 361-375 derived from the HIV GP120 protein, the amino acid sequence of which is shown in SEQ ID NO: 20); the polypeptide hPDL1-aa147-160 (ie, amino acids 147-160 derived from human PD-L1 protein, the amino acid sequence of which is shown in SEQ ID NO: 21); polypeptide HBsAg-aa113-135 (ie, derived from human HBV surface antigen major protein (HBsAg) Amino acids 113-135, the amino acid sequence of which is set forth in SEQ ID NO:22).

The sense and antisense coding sequences of the three polypeptides of interest (as shown in Table 3) were directly synthesized and annealed to obtain a gene fragment encoding the polypeptide of interest having a sticky end.

Table 3: The sense and antisense coding sequences of the three polypeptides of interest

The six plasmids (RBHBcAg189, RBHBcAg149, TBHBcAg188, TBHBcAg153, HBHBcAg189, and HBHBcAg149) obtained in Example 1 were digested with BamHI and EcoRI, respectively, to obtain six linearized vectors. Then, the three gene fragments encoding the polypeptide of interest prepared as described above were ligated into each linearized vector, respectively, to obtain an expression plasmid encoding the recombinant protein (a total of 18 kinds: RBHBcAg189-SEQ20, RBHBcAg149-SEQ20, TBHBcAg188- SEQ20, TBHBcAg153-SEQ20, HBBBcAg189-SEQ20, HBBBcAg149-SEQ20, RBHBcAg189-SEQ21, RBHBcAg149-SEQ21, TBHBcAg188-SEQ21, TBHBcAg153-SEQ21, HBHBcAg189-SEQ21, HBBccAg149-SEQ21, RBHBcAg189-SEQ22, RBHBcAg149-SEQ22, TBHBcAg188-SEQ22, TBHBcAg153-SEQ22, HBHBcAg189-SEQ22, and HBHBcAg149-SEQ22).

2.2 Expression, purification and assembly of recombinant proteins

The 18 expression plasmids constructed in the previous step were used to express and purify the recombinant protein encoded by the expression plasmid by the same method. The expression and purification process of these recombinant proteins is exemplified below by taking RBHBcAg149-SEQX (SEQX, SEQ20, SEQ21 or SEQ22) as an example.

(2.2.1) Preparation of strain for expressing recombinant protein: The expression plasmid RBHBcAg149-SEQX obtained in 2.1 was transformed into Escherichia coli ER2566 strain, thereby obtaining an expression strain.

(2.2.2) Expression of recombinant protein RBHBcAg149-SEQX: The expression strain was inoculated into a 500 mL flask and cultured at 37 ° C with a constant temperature shaker to an OD of about 1.0; followed by the addition of isopropyl-beta-D-thiomilk The glycoside (IPTG) was brought to a final concentration of 0.5 mM and expression was continued for 6 hours at 25 °C.

(2.2.3) Purification of recombinant protein RBHBcAg149-SEQX:

(2.2.3.1) Ultrasonic disruption of bacteria: Centrifuge the cells in 2.2.2 and perform sonication. The sonication buffer was: 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.0) + 300 mM NaCl.

(2.2.3.2) Preliminary purification of recombinant protein: the sonicated mixture was incubated in a 65 ° C water bath for 30 minutes, followed by centrifugation to collect the supernatant; in a volume ratio of 1:1, saturated ammonium sulfate was added to the supernatant, and the precipitate was collected by centrifugation. The pellet was resuspended by adding an appropriate volume of buffer (20 mM phosphate buffer (pH = 7.4) + 150 mM NaCl) to obtain a preliminary purified recombinant protein RBHBcAg149-SEQX.

(2.2.3.3) Chromatographic purification of recombinant protein: The protein obtained in 2.2.3.2 was further purified by Sepharose 4FF (GE) molecular sieve column chromatography according to the manufacturer's instructions to obtain a purified recombinant protein. The purified protein of interest was subjected to SDS-PAGE detection, and the state of the VLP formed by the recombinant protein was observed by transmission electron microscopy.

Figure 2 shows the results of SDS-PAGE of the 18 recombinant proteins constructed, and the transmission electron microscopic observation results of the virus-like particles formed from the recombinant protein. The results showed that the 18 recombinant proteins obtained were all more than 85% pure and were able to assemble into virus-like particles of about 30 nm in diameter. These results indicate that the polypeptide carrier constructed by the present invention has a wide range The versatility can be used to display peptides of various purposes and to form VLPs.

Example 3. Evaluation of immunogenicity of virus-like particles

In this example, we verified the immunogenicity of virus-like particles formed from the recombinant proteins of the present invention. These virus-like particles are capable of inducing the body to produce antibodies that specifically bind to the target antigen.

3.1 mouse immunization

BALB/C mice were immunized with the 18 virus-like particles prepared in Example 2, respectively. The immunization protocol is as follows: the immune adjuvant is aluminum hydroxide adjuvant; the immunization dose is 3 ug/dose; the immunization method is intramuscular injection of the lateral thigh of the hind limb; the immunization procedure is booster immunization after the first immunization + 2 weeks, and the total immunization is performed twice.

3.2 Detection of titers of antibodies that specifically bind to target antigen in serum

3.2.1 Preparation of reaction plate

The coated antigen of the reaction plate is a target antigen corresponding to the above three polypeptides of interest, namely: gp120 protein of HIV-1 (purchased from Beijing Yiqiao Shenzhou Biotechnology Co., Ltd., catalog number 11233-V08H), human PD- L1 protein (purchased from Beijing Yiqiao Shenzhou Biotechnology Co., Ltd.), human hepatitis B virus surface antigen main protein (HBsAg, purchased from Beijing Wantai Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) recombinantly expressed by CHO cells.

The three recombinant proteins were diluted with 50 mM CB buffer (NaHCO ₃ /Na ₂ CO ₃ buffer, final concentration 50 mM, pH 9.6) at pH 9.6 to a final concentration of 2 μg/mL to obtain a coating solution. . 100 μL of the coating solution was added to each well of a 96-well microtiter plate, and coated at 2-8 ° C for 16-24 hours, and then coated at 37 ° C for 2 hours. Then, the wells were washed once with PBST washing solution (20 mM PB7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20); then 200 μL of blocking solution (20% Na ₂ HPO ₄ containing 20% calf serum and 1% casein) was added to each well. /NaH ₂ PO ₄ buffer solution, pH 7.4), and blocked at 37 ° C for 2 hours. Discard the blocking solution. The plate was then dried and placed in an aluminum foil pouch and stored at 2-8 ° C until use.

3.2.2 ELISA detection of Ant i-HBsAg antibody titer in serum

Collection of serum samples: Mouse eye blood was collected at 0, 2, and 4 weeks, serum was separated and stored at -20 ° C until detection.

Sample dilution: The mouse serum was diluted to 1:100, 1:500, 1:2500, 1:12500, 1:62500, 1:312500, 1:1562500 with 7 dilutions in PBS containing 20% newborn calf serum. gradient.

ELISA assay: 100 μL of the diluted serum sample was added to each well of the coated plate and incubated at 37 ° C for 30 minutes. The plate was then washed 5 times with PBST wash (20 mM PB 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20). After washing, 100 μL of GAM-HRP reaction solution was added to each well of the plate, and incubated at 37 ° C for 30 minutes. The plate was then washed 5 times with PBST wash (20 mM PB 7.4, 150 mM NaCl, 0.1% Tween 20). After washing, 50 μL of TMB color developer (supplied by Beijing Wantai Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was added to each well of the microtiter plate, and incubated at 37 ° C for 15 minutes. After the incubation was completed, 50 μL of stop solution (provided by Beijing Wantai Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.) was added to each well of the plate, and the OD450/630 value of each well was read on a microplate reader.

Calculation of antibody titer: take a sample well with a reading value between 0.2 and 2.0, perform a regression curve on the dilution factor and the reading value of the sample, and calculate a dilution factor of the sample when the reading value is equal to 2 times the background value, and The sample dilution factor was used as the titer of the specific antibody in the serum.

Figure 3 shows the antibody titer against target antigen in mouse serum after immunization of BALB/C mice with virus-like particles formed by 18 recombinant proteins. Figure 3A: The polypeptide of interest used is SEQ ID NO: 20, and the titer of the anti-GP120 antibody is detected; Figure 3B: the polypeptide of interest used is SEQ ID NO: 21, and the titer of the anti-PD-L1 antibody is detected; Figure 3C: The polypeptide of interest used is SEQ ID NO: 22 and the titer of the anti-HBsAg antibody is detected. The results showed that the virus-like particles formed by the 18 recombinant proteins had good immunogenicity and were able to induce high titers of antibodies that specifically bind to the target antigen.

Example 4. Evaluation of anti-HBV therapeutic effect of virus-like particles displaying HBsAg epitope (SEQ ID NO: 22)

In this example, we evaluated the anti-HBV therapeutic effect of virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22) constructed based on different polypeptide vectors.

4.1 mouse immunization

According to the protocol described in Examples 1-2, a human HBV-based HBcAg was constructed, Two recombinant proteins displaying the HBsAg epitope (SEQ ID NO: 22) (ie, HBcAg183-SEQ22, the amino acid sequence of which is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 41; and HBcAg149-SEQ22, the amino acid sequence of which is set forth in SEQ ID NO: 42 Show) and prepared virus-like particles formed from these two recombinant proteins.

Subsequently, the HBV transgenic mouse model was used to evaluate the anti-HBV therapeutic effects of the five virus-like particles displaying the HBsAg epitope (SEQ ID NO: 22) prepared in Example 2 and the two virus-like particles prepared in the present example.

The immunization protocol is as follows: the immunological adjuvant is aluminum hydroxide adjuvant; the immunization dose is 12 μg/dose; the immunization method is intramuscular injection of the lateral thigh of the hind limb; the immunization procedure is immunization once every 0, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 weeks. A total of 6 immunizations.

4.2 Detection of serum antibody titer and virological indicators

The detection of the titer of Ant i-HBsAg in serum was performed as described in Example 3.2, and the virological indicators in the serum of the mice, i.e., the levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg, were measured.

4.3 Analysis of therapeutic effects of recombinant protein

The test results are shown in Figures 4-6. Figure 4 shows the level of HBsAg in serum of mice after treatment of HBV transgenic male (Figure 4A) and female (Figure 4B) mice with different virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22). The change. Figure 5 shows the level of HBV DNA in mouse serum as a function of time after treatment of HBV transgenic male mice with different virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22). Figure 6 shows the dilution of anti-HBsAg antibodies in mouse serum after treatment of HBV transgenic male (Figure 6A) and female (Figure 6B) mice with different virus-like particles displaying the same epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: 22). The degree of change over time.

The results showed that in the group treated with VLP immunotherapy, Ant i-HBsAg antibody was detected in the serum of mice after immunization, and the levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg in the serum of mice showed different degrees of decline. . In contrast, anti-HBsAg antibodies were not produced in the serum of the control mice (immunized without VLP), and the levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg in the serum did not decrease.

These results show that the six polypeptide vectors constructed based on the bat hepatitis B virus core protein can be used to efficiently display epitope peptides of HBsAg from human HBV (for example, HBsAg-aa113-135), which is capable of forming VLPs and inducing the body to produce high titers of ant i-HBsAg antibodies in the host, thereby inhibiting the levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg in mice (ie, HBV DNA and HBsAg) Decreased significantly). Furthermore, the experimental data of Figures 4-6 also show that virus-like particles based on the polypeptide carriers of the present invention (e.g., RBHBcAg149 and TBHBcAg153) have a particularly significant anti-HBV therapeutic effect, which is superior to virus-like particles constructed based on human HBV-based HBcAg. .

Therefore, the experimental results of the present examples indicate that: (1) the polypeptide carrier of the present invention is capable of forming a VLP, is suitable for displaying various polypeptides of interest, and is capable of inducing the body to produce high titers of antibodies against the polypeptide of interest; (2) the present invention The polypeptide vector is particularly suitable for displaying an epitope of human HBV (for example, an epitope of HBsAg of human HBV), which is capable of inducing the body to produce high titers of antibodies against HBsAg, and to eliminate or inhibit the levels of HBV DNA and HBsAg in vivo, And its effect is superior to the polypeptide carrier constructed based on human HBV-based HBcAg. Thus, the recombinant proteins of the present invention displaying epitopes of human HBV have the potential to treat HBV infection and are particularly suitable for inducing effective, specific, therapeutic anti-HBV immunity.

Example 5. Preparation and evaluation of virus-like particles displaying HBsAg epitopes of HBV from different genotypes

The HBsAg epitope (SEQ ID NO: 22) used in Examples 2-4 was derived from HBV genotype B. To demonstrate the broad adaptability of the polypeptide vectors of the present invention to HBV of various genotypes, we also constructed HBVs from different genotypes (genotypes A, C, and D) using RBHBcAg149 and TBHBcAg153 as exemplary polypeptide vectors. Recombinant proteins of the HBsAg epitope, and evaluated the ability of the constructed recombinant protein to assemble into virus-like particles, as well as the immunogenicity of the resulting virus-like particles and the therapeutic effect of anti-HBV infection.

5.1 Construction of an expression plasmid encoding a recombinant protein containing a polypeptide of interest and a polypeptide vector

In this example, in addition to the HBsAg epitope (from HBV genotype B, SEQ ID NO: 22) used in Examples 2-4, the polypeptide of interest also includes HBsAg from HBV genotypes A, C and D. Protein epitopes (amino acids 113-135), which are named: HBsAg-aa113-135-A, HBsAg-aa113-135-C and HBsAg-aa113-135-D, respectively, and their sequences (SEQ ID NO: 60-62) is shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Sequence of amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein from HBV genotypes A, C and D

SEQ ID NOSEQ ID NO	名称name	序列信息Sequence information
6060	HBsAg-aa113-135-AHBsAg-aa113-135-A	STTTSTGPCKTCTTPAQGNSMFPSTTTSTGPCKTCTTPAQGNSMFP
6161	HBsAg-aa113-135-CHBsAg-aa113-135-C	TSTTSTGPCKTCTIPAQGTSMFPTSTTSTGPCKTCTIPAQGTSMFP
6262	HBsAg-aa113-135-DHBsAg-aa113-135-D	SSTTSTGPCRTCTTPAQGTSMYPSSTTSTGPCRTCTTPAQGTSMYP

The sense and antisense coding sequences of the three polypeptides of interest (as shown in Table 5) were directly synthesized and annealed to obtain a gene fragment encoding the polypeptide of interest having a sticky end.

Table 5: Justice and antisense coding sequences for three polypeptides of interest

The three gene fragments encoding the polypeptide of interest prepared as described above were ligated into the linearized vectors RBHBcAg149 and TBHBcAg153, respectively, as described in Example 2, thereby obtaining an expression plasmid encoding the recombinant protein (6 kinds: RBHBcAg149) - SEQ60, RBHBcAg149-SEQ61, RBHBcAg149-SEQ62, TBHBcAg153-SEQ60, TBHBcAg153-SEQ61, TBHBcAg153-SEQ62). The amino acid sequences of the recombinant proteins encoded by these expression plasmids are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Amino acid sequences of six recombinant proteins

5.2 Expression, purification and assembly of recombinant proteins

The recombinant protein encoded by the expression plasmid was expressed and purified using the six expression plasmids constructed in the previous step as described in Example 2. Subsequently, the state of the VLP formed by these recombinant proteins was observed using a transmission electron microscope.

Figure 7 shows the results of transmission electron microscopy of virus-like particles formed from the six recombinant proteins constructed. The results showed that the six recombinant proteins obtained were able to assemble into virus-like particles of about 30 nm in diameter. These results indicate that the polypeptide vector constructed by the present invention has broad versatility, can be used to display epitope peptides of HBV from various genotypes (for example, aa113-135 of HBsAg protein), and is capable of forming a good VLP.

5.3 Evaluation of immunogenicity of virus-like particles

The immunogenicity of the six recombinant proteins constructed as described above and the virus-like particles formed by the recombinant proteins RBHBcAg149-SEQ22 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ22 of Example 2 were evaluated using the method described in Example 3. The experimental results are shown in Fig. 8.

Figure 8 shows that BALB/C mice were immunized with virus-like particles formed from 8 recombinant proteins. After 3 weeks, antibody titers against the corresponding target polypeptide (SEQ ID NO: 60, 22, 61, 62) in mouse sera; wherein, with the epitope peptide of HBsAg protein from HBV genotype A (SEQ ID NO: 60) To detect antibody titer of mouse sera immunized with RBHBcAg149-SEQ60 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ60; use epitope peptide (SEQ ID NO: SEQ22) of HBsAg protein from HBV genotype B to detect RBHBcAg149-SEQ22 and TBHBcAg153 Antibody titer of sera of mouse immunized with SEQ22; detection of antibody titer of mouse sera immunized with RBHBcAg149-SEQ61 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ61 using epitope peptide of HBsAg protein from HBV genotype C (SEQ ID NO: 61) And; the epitope peptide of the HBsAg protein from HBV genotype D (SEQ ID NO: 62) was used to detect antibody titers of mouse sera immunized with RBHccAg149-SEQ62 and TBHBcAg153-SEQ62. The results showed that the virus-like particles formed by the eight recombinant proteins had good immunogenicity and were able to induce high titers of antibodies that specifically bind to the target epitope.

5.4 Evaluation of anti-HBV therapeutic effect of virus-like particles

The anti-HBV therapeutic effect of the virus-like particles formed by the four recombinant proteins (SEQ ID NO: 36, 69, 70, 71) was evaluated using the method described in Example 4. The experimental results are shown in Fig. 9.

Figure 9 shows virus-like particles formed using the four recombinant proteins (RBHBcAg149-SEQ22, RBHBcAg149-SEQ60, RBHBcAg149-SEQ61, RBHBcAg149-SEQ62; sequences SEQ ID NO: 36, 69, 70, 71, respectively) constructed as above. The level of HBsAg in the serum of mice after treatment of HBV transgenic males (Fig. 9A) and females (Fig. 9B), with vertical axis: HBsAg level (IU/ml); horizontal axis: time ( week). The results showed that in the mice immunized with VLP, the level of HBsAg in the serum of the mice showed a significant decrease after immunization.

These experimental results show that the polypeptide vectors of the present invention (e.g., RBHBcAg149 and TBHBcAg153) can be used to efficiently display epitope peptides of HBsAg of human HBV from different genotypes (e.g., genotypes A, B, C, and D) (e.g., HBsAg- Aa113-135). The recombinant protein constructed based on the polypeptide carrier of the present invention and the epitope peptide of HBsAg is capable of forming a VLP, and is capable of inducing a body to produce a high titer of anti-HBsAg antibody in the host, and thereby The level of HBsAg in mice was inhibited (i.e., the level of HBsAg was significantly decreased). This indicates that a recombinant protein containing the polypeptide carrier of the present invention and an epitope peptide of HBsAg can be used for the prevention and treatment of infection of various genotypes of HBV, and thus can be used for development of new anti-HBV vaccines and drugs.

While the invention has been described in detail, the embodiments of the invention . The full scope of the invention is given by the appended claims and any equivalents thereof.

Claims

A nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide vector or a variant thereof, said variant having at least 90% (eg, at least 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%) with said nucleotide sequence , 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99%) of the identity, or under stringent conditions or high stringency conditions, capable of hybridizing to the nucleotide sequence, wherein the polypeptide carrier is selected from:

(1) RBHBcAg vector which differs from the core antigen protein of hoof hemiver hepatitis B virus (RBHBcAg; for example, its amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 1) in that: (a) the N-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein is 78- One or more amino acid residues in the amino acid residue at position 83 (eg, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 amino acid residues; for example, amino acid residues 78-83, The amino acid residues 78-82, amino acid residues 78-81, or amino acid residues 78-80 are deleted or replaced with a linker (eg, a flexible linker; eg, as SEQ ID NO: 43 The linker shown); and (b) optionally, the C-terminus of the RBHBcAg protein is deleted by 1-40 amino acid residues (eg, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20) , 20-25, 25-30, 30-35, or 35-40 amino acid residues);

(2) A TBHBcAg vector which differs from the core antigen protein of TB-hepatitis B virus (TBHBcAg; for example, its amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 2) in that: (a) the N-terminal 80th of the TBHBcAg protein One or more amino acid residues in the -84 amino acid residue (for example, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 amino acid residues; for example, amino acid residues 80-84, 80- The amino acid residue at position 83 or the amino acid residue at positions 80-82 is deleted or replaced with a linker (for example, a flexible linker; for example, a linker as shown in SEQ ID NO: 43); and (b) Optionally, the C-terminus of the TBHBcAg protein is deleted from 1 to 35 amino acid residues (eg, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, Or 30-35 amino acid residues); or

(3) HBHBcAg vector, which differs from the core antigen protein of HBV Hepatitis B virus (HBHBcAg; for example, its amino acid sequence is shown in SEQ ID NO: 3) in that: (a) the N-terminal 78 of the HBHBcAg protein One or more amino acid residues in the -83 amino acid residue (eg, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 amino acid residues; for example, amino acid residues 78-83, Amino acid residues 78-82, amino acid residues 78-81, or Amino acid residue 78-80) is deleted or replaced with a linker (eg, a flexible linker; eg, a linker as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 43); and (b) optionally, C of the HBHBcAg protein 1-40 amino acid residues are deleted at the end (eg, 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25, 25-30, 30-35, or 35- 40 amino acid residues);

Preferably, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is introduced at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues;

Preferably, a restriction enzyme cleavage site is introduced in the nucleotide sequence encoding the linker and/or one or both ends thereof;

Preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide carrier is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-9;

Preferably, the nucleic acid molecule comprises a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 12-17;

Preferably, the nucleic acid molecule is used to insert a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of interest, for example, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues, Or inserted into the nucleotide sequence encoding the linker or one or both ends thereof (eg, by restriction enzyme sites);

Preferably, the nucleic acid molecule further comprises a nucleotide sequence encoding a polypeptide of interest, wherein the polypeptide of interest is heterologous to the polypeptide carrier, and the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is Inserted at a position encoding the deleted one or more amino acid residues, or inserted into a nucleotide sequence encoding the linker or at one or both ends thereof (eg, by restriction enzyme cleavage sites) Preferably, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide, such as an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV); preferably, the epitope peptide comprises: human HBV ( For example, an epitope of HBsAg of HBV genotype A, B, C or D) (eg a linear epitope, eg amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein), an epitope of the GP120 protein of HIV (eg a linear epitope, eg GP120) An amino acid at positions 361-375 of the protein, or an epitope of human PD-L1 (eg, a linear epitope, such as amino acids 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein); preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected From SEQ ID NOS: 20-22 and 60-62; preferably, the nucleic acid molecule comprises or Selected encoded by SEQ ID NO: 23-40 nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence 69-74 of the composition.
A vector (eg, a cloning vector or an expression vector) comprising the core of claim 1 Acid molecule.
A host cell comprising the nucleic acid molecule of claim 1 or the vector of claim 2.
A method of displaying a polypeptide of interest, comprising:

(1) inserting a nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest into the nucleic acid molecule of claim 1, thereby obtaining a nucleic acid molecule encoding the recombinant protein; preferably, the nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide of interest is inserted into the coding At the position of the deleted one or more amino acid residues, or inserted into the nucleotide sequence encoding the linker or one or both ends thereof (eg, by restriction enzyme sites);

(2) expressing the nucleic acid molecule encoding the recombinant protein in the step (1) as a recombinant protein;

Preferably, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide, such as an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV); preferably, the epitope peptide comprises: human HBV (eg HBV) Epitopes of HBsAg of genotype A, B, C or D) (eg linear epitopes such as amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein), epitopes of the GP120 protein of HIV (eg linear epitopes such as GP120 protein) Epitope at positions 361-375), or an epitope of human PD-L1 (eg, a linear epitope, such as amino acids 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein); preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 20-22 and 60-62; Preferably, the nucleic acid molecule encoding the recombinant protein comprises or consists of a nucleotide sequence encoding an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-40 and 69-74.
A recombinant protein comprising a polypeptide carrier and a polypeptide of interest, wherein the polypeptide carrier is as defined in claim 1, and the polypeptide of interest is inserted at the position of the deleted one or more amino acid residues Or inserted into the connector or one or both ends thereof;

Preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide carrier is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 4-9;

Preferably, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide, such as an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HIV, PDL1 or HBV (particularly human HBV); preferably, the epitope peptide comprises: human HBV (example) Epitopes of HBsAg such as HBV genotype A, B, C or D) (eg linear epitopes such as amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein), epitopes of HIV GP120 protein (eg linear epitopes such as GP120) An amino acid at positions 361-375 of the protein, or an epitope of human PD-L1 (eg, a linear epitope, such as amino acids 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein); preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected From SEQ ID NOs: 20-22 and 60-62;

Preferably, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-40 and 69-74.
A virus-like particle comprising or consisting of the recombinant protein of claim 5.
A pharmaceutical composition (eg, a vaccine) comprising the recombinant protein of claim 5 or the virus-like particle of claim 6, and optionally one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or excipients (eg, Agent).
A method for preventing or treating a disease associated with HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (for example, hepatitis B), which comprises administering a recombinant protein of claim 5 or the virus-like particle of claim 6 to a subject in need thereof Or the pharmaceutical composition according to claim 7, wherein said polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope derived from HBV (particularly human HBV); preferably, said epitope peptide comprises: human HBV (e.g., HBV genotype) An epitope of HBsAg of A, B, C or D) (eg a linear epitope, such as amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein); preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 22 and 60 Preferably, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 35-40 and 69-74.
Use of the recombinant protein of claim 5 or the virus-like particle of claim 6 for the preparation of a medicament for preventing or treating a HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (for example, hepatitis B), wherein the object A polypeptide is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV); preferably, the epitope peptide comprises: an epitope of HBsAg of human HBV (eg HBV genotype A, B, C or D) (eg linear epitopes such as HBsAg protein Preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 22 and 60-62; preferably, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of SEQ ID NO: 35-40 And amino acid sequence of 69-74.
The recombinant protein of claim 5 or the virus-like particle of claim 6 or the pharmaceutical composition according to claim 7 for use in preventing or treating a HBV infection or a disease associated with HBV infection (for example, hepatitis B), wherein the object A polypeptide is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope from HBV (particularly human HBV); preferably, the epitope peptide comprises: an epitope of HBsAg of human HBV (eg HBV genotype A, B, C or D) (eg, a linear epitope, such as amino acids 113-135 of the HBsAg protein); preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 22 and 60-62; preferably, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of The amino acid sequence consists of SEQ ID NOS: 35-40 and 69-74.
A polynucleotide encoding the recombinant protein of claim 5.
A vector (eg, a cloning vector or an expression vector) comprising the polynucleotide of claim 11.
A host cell comprising the polynucleotide of claim 11 or the vector of claim 12.
A method of producing the recombinant protein of claim 5, which comprises culturing the host cell of claim 13 under conditions suitable for expression of the recombinant protein, and recovering the recombinant protein.
Use of the recombinant protein of claim 5 or the virus-like particle of claim 6 for the preparation of a medicament for preventing or treating HIV infection or a disease associated with HIV infection (e.g., AIDS), wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises An epitope derived from HIV; preferably, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope derived from HIV; preferably, the epitope The peptide comprises: an epitope of the GP120 protein of HIV (eg, a linear epitope, such as amino acids 361-375 of the GP120 protein); preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 20; preferably, The recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 23-28.
Use of the recombinant protein of claim 5 or the virus-like particle of claim 6 for the preparation of a medicament for preventing or treating cancer (for example, non-small cell lung cancer), wherein the polypeptide of interest comprises human PD-L1 protein Preferably, the polypeptide of interest is an epitope peptide comprising an epitope of a human PD-L1 protein; preferably, the epitope peptide comprises: amino acids 147-160 of the human PD-L1 protein; Preferably, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide of interest is as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 21; preferably, the recombinant protein comprises or consists of an amino acid sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOs: 29-34.